Historical Evolution of the Danube River Valley in its Lower Sector
Dr. Mihaela Verga, a geographer by profession who teaches at the University of Bucharest, joined us in Belene on the Bulgarian Danube und gave us a very insightful presentation on the long term hydrological and geomorphological evolution of the Lower Danube river basin. The long-term consequences of concerted human interventions in the riverbed and its floodplains are particularly relevant today. Historians and anthropologists usually research much shorter time spans and this was another reason why we were grateful for this bird’s eye view. It also made us more acutely aware of the “doings” of nature, its constant evolution marked both ...
A City on the Lower Danube: Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Conducting field research can make you end up in places where you may have never gone otherwise. That was the case for me when I - Merve Neziroğlu, researcher at the GWZO in Leipzig - went to Romania in July 2022. Even though my study had not specifically to do with the city itself, I had to reside in Drobeta-Turnu Severin. There, not only I had access to the Regional Branch of the National Archives, but I could also visit the places crucial for my research and gather all the information I needed. In today’s blog post, I want to ...
The Unexpected Afterlife of Socialist Infrastructure: The Văcărești Natural Park (Bucharest), a Vast Wetland in a Capital City
Not every infrastructural project that was launched at some point was completed, especially if a political system change took place in the meantime. In Romania's capital Bucharest, one such legacy of the socialist past can be found, which today has a very different purpose than originally planned. In today’s blog post, Prof. Constantin Iordachi provides us with insight into the case study of the Văcărești Natural Park, an example for the unexpected afterlife of socialist infrastructure in Bucharest. *** We live in a highly inter-connected world. Our multilayered connections to people, nature, and society are routinely mediated by infrastructure: from ...
‘The Father of the Danube’: Charles Hartley and the Transformation of the Sulina branch
In the second half of the 19th century, Sulina, one of the Danube Delta’s branches, became a hub of transnational engineering aiming to transform this perilous section of the Danube into a fully navigable waterway. Complicated hydraulic works became successful under the coordination of British civil engineer Charles Hartley. In today’s blogpost, Romanian historian Prof. Constantin Ardeleanu provides us with insight into one of the many facets of the complex activities of the European Commission of the Danube, one of the world’s earliest international organisations, focusing on one of its most influential technocrats, Charles Hartley. *** A European celebration On ...
The Canal That Made the Birds Return
A newly dug canal in the Danube Delta’s southern branch, the Sfântu Gheorghe, has made a significant impact on the local fauna and human economy. In today’s blogpost, the Romanian anthropologist and environmental historian Dr. Stefan Dorondel gives us a glimpse into his fieldwork on the transformation of the Mahmudia region, specifically the Carasuhat Canal. *** If you visit Mahmudia, a village of 2,608 inhabitants, today, you see a landscape vastly different than it was ten years ago. Located on the Sfântu Gheorghe Branch of the Danube (in the Danube Delta), Mahmudia was a typical fishing village until 1984. Lakes, ...
The Protected Area of Kalimok-Brushlen (Калимок-Бръшлен)
About 30 miles east from the Bulgarian town Ruse (Русе), you find the Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Area (Калимок-Бръшлен) with several endangered animal and plant species. Bulgarian ethnologist Ivelina Eftimova (PhD) from Shumen University explores the impact of the channel and the dike on local flora and fauna, which were built during the socialist period. But these constructions also had an impact on the resources for the locals and caused ongoing challenges for the inhabitants of the Protected Area. In this blogpost, we will get an insight into Ivelina’s fieldwork! *** Location of the Protected Area of Kalimok-Brushlen: Location of the Protected ...